Halx

By Andrew Gonsalves www.tfproject.org www.andrewgonsalves.com

I hear a lot of my friends, co-workers and random people on the subway talk about their troubles in life. They complain, fret, struggle, dismiss and lament, but they hardly ever say anything inspirational or admirable. Sure, you figure any friend who turns to you and gives you some advice you can read about on a fortune cookie is not really on the level with you, but the overwhelming (or is it underwhelming?) mode that people are in when they talk with their fellows is that life sucks.

Life doesn't suck. In fact, life is awesome. I guess being an atheist, I'm very grateful to be alive and I never want it to end. I know it will some day and it won't matter anymore, but that's all the more reason to get the most out of it. I want to live better and be a better person. Today I compiled a short list of things that I will remind myself of every day so that I can improve and enjoy. These are inspirational, truthful and honest. I feel cheesey for this all, but hopefully someone will take it to heart.

1) Do what you love, but if you can't do that, at least love doing a good job.

2) Approach tasks as if you are the first and last defense against stupidity in every collaborative process. Chances are, you'll be the only one thinking that far ahead.

3) Other people aren't and shouldn't be interested in HOW things get done. All they are interested in is what happens, how long it takes and how much money it costs. Prepare ALL of your presentations, proposals and suggestions according to this.

4) Rich people don't fuck the little guys. The little guys fuck themselves by thinking that they do.

5) When you work your day job, you're not making yourself rich, you're making someone else rich. How do you fix this? Put your money into things that make you more money, not things that make you happy.

6) You can't win if you're afraid to lose. You just CAN'T. Nobody ever learned to win without losing many times first. Nothing significant is ever achieved without risk.

7) Fear is the root of evil, prejudice, missed opportunities and apprehension. Bravery and acceptance always makes you a better person.

8) If you blame your problem on something or somebody other than yourself, you'll spend a lifetime fixing the wrong things and you'll never get anything solved.

9) Depression is an investment opportunity. When your personal stock is low, it's a good time to prepare for growth.

10) Most people are rarely on the same wavelength as you, and that's a good thing. Learn from the different angle that they approach things. Relish their difference of opinion.

11) 15 years from now, you're going to wonder what the hell possessed you to wear that top you have on.

12) Once you get past the anxiety of a sales pitch, an exclusive offer, or a fashion statement, you'll find that your desire to buy something is not that pressing.

13) Don't depend on lists for wisdom. They're always created by someone who is better at talking than actually doing. Real winners write self-help books.

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QuasiMondo

Real winners also host seminars, too.

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Cameron originally envisioned the Terminator as a small, unremarkable man, giving it the ability to blend in more easily. As a result, his first choice for the part was Lance Henriksen. O. J. Simpson was on the shortlist but Cameron did not think that such a nice guy could be a ruthless killer.

-From the Collector's Edition DVD of The Terminator

mandy

i have some too...it's words or phrases or sayings i try to live by. they're written down on a yellow postits on my wall at work ...they go like this...,

1. "be kinder than usual at all times, for everyone you meet is fighting some kind of battle."

2. "I am but a reflection of what's in those around me." (a bit contradictory to the first one but applicable at times)

3. "It is our choices that show who we truly are, far more than our abilities." (said by none other than "THE MAN" Albus Dumbledore

this is an awesome thread...thanks halx. I agree that life does not suck. I also agree that it's awesome! it's what you make of it. If you surround yourself with positive thoughts and envelope yourself in positive feelings, (true that it cannot always be so) but for the most part of your life...and you'll go through your life not without a hitch, but with positivity that make those hitches just that much more bearable.

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The Imagination equips us to see a reality we have yet to create

Infinite_Loser

Only someone who's rich would say that...

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I believe in equality; Everyone is equally inferior to me.

ubertuber

I think it's the other way around. Only by thinking this way would someone acquire wealth.

And I'm definitely not rich.

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Cogito ergo spud -- I think, therefore I yam

Mister Coaster

I love the irony of #13, good one.

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If you have any poo... fling it NOW!

mixedmedia

I have lived my entire working life by #1.

And it might be motivational to think this, but come on...

That's not to say that I think rich people are out to fuck everyone below them, but part and parcel of becoming rich (in many instances - or let us say ultra-rich) is fucking "the little people."

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Most people go through life dreading they'll have a traumatic experience. Freaks were born with their trauma. They've already passed their test in life. They're aristocrats. - Diane Arbus
PESSIMISM, n. A philosophy forced upon the convictions of the observer by the disheartening prevalence of the optimist with his scarecrow hope and his unsightly smile. - Ambrose Bierce

Swisivo

I'm an "atheist" also, and I really like this post. It fits in well with my own values. Amen.

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The answer to the question you are asking, this interview is too short to contain.

stevie667

Fear leads to anger, anger leads to hate, hate leads to suffering

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Push-Pull

14) If something that you saw or heard could be considered even remotely confidential by another, keep it to yourself.

I know it doesn't apply so much to the list above, but I'm sick of people not minding their own business when it comes to my affairs as of late.....

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"No laws, no matter how rigidly enforced, can protect a person from their own stupidity." -Me-

"Some people are like Slinkies..... They are not really good for anything, but they still bring a smile to your face when you push them down a flight of stairs." -Unknown-

DAMMIT! -Jack Bauer-

Toaster126

Yeah, I think #4 is an oversimplification...

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"The question isn't who is going to let me, it's who is going to stop me." (Ayn Rand)
"The truth is that our finest moments are most likely to occur when we are feeling deeply uncomfortable, unhappy, or unfulfilled. For it is only in such moments, propelled by our discomfort, that we are likely to step out of our ruts and start searching for different ways or truer answers." (M. Scott Peck)